Golem has never known anything but pain. He exists solely to serve the Oracle's whims and needs. Determined to escape a life of abuse and servitude, he runs away and finds refuge in a cave.Then one day a child falls asleep in his lap...Marl isn't anyone special. He's low in the Earth Caste, set to watch over the Caste's problem child, Lichen. In search of the errant Lichen one day, he unexpectedly comes across Golem hiding deep in the mountains. Even more surprising is the reason that Golem is hiding, a reason that forces Marl to make a choice: Oracle or Golem.